MURRIETA: Artists demonstrate crafts at fair

Students learn about hula dancing, painting, collages

Playing the role of "teacher" at Lisa J. Mails Elementary School
in Murrieta on Thursday were dance instructors, artists, musicians
and an animator, who volunteered at the school's third annual
Artist Fair.

The visiting artists included parents, relatives, friends of
students' families and professionals. They set up shop around the
campus as students from different grades and classes took turns
rotating to the different classrooms to visit the artists.

A quilter, a ceramics artist, an accordion player and a
photographer also spent time with students.

The event is part of the school's mission to emphasize visual
and performing arts, Principal Faythe Mutchnick-Jayx said. Students
learned about the various forms of art and why and how artists
create.

"It's a very memorable day," Mutchnick said.

Murrieta Valley Unified School District Trustee Paul Diffley, a
retired teacher, was among the volunteers who attended.

Diffley ---- who also creates graphics and collages ---- showed
students how to use acrylic paints and mix paints with artists'
tools. He brought in samples of tools and his mixed-medium
paintings, and a unique, three-dimensional collage of small antique
pieces called an "assemblage."

"I'm excited, because this is exposing them to a new way of
using color and texture," said Diffley, who taught art for 34 years
at a high school in Glendale and at Golden West College in
Huntington Beach. "It's such fun."

Gerry and Susan Riley of Murrieta, who are neighbors of a
student at the school, brought their collection of vintage guitars
and other instruments. The couple talked about the music each
instrument played, did a little playing, and showed off a colorful
mural painted on the back of one guitar.

Kindergartners got a lesson in Hawaiian hula dancing from parent
Lehua Alvarez, who has been hula dancing since she was 3.

"They're having a blast," kindergarten teacher Sarah Files said
as her students danced wearing grass skirts made from construction
paper.

In another classroom, Neha Patel of San Diego, a native of India
who teaches a difficult form of classical South Indian dance called
Bharata Natyam, worked with fifth-graders on their steps. Patel
worked to keep the students focused as they practiced moves and
tried not to giggle.

Helping Patel at the front of the classroom was Maria Persaud, a
fifth-grader at Lisa J. Mails whose father is of Indian descent and
who takes dance classes from Patel. Maria had invited Patel to
participate in the Artist Fair and Patel said she was happy to
increase students' exposure to Indian dance.

"Keep your head straight," Patel instructed the students, some
of whom said the moves were too hard.

One student asked, "What if you can't do it?"

Patel answered, "You can! I'm 40. How old are you?" prompting
laughter from many of the students and teachers.

"Control your mind. Concentrate," Patel told the students.

Afterward, Patel said the students were open-minded and did very
well, even though most of them said they'd never seen classical
Indian dancing, except maybe in a movie.

"It was hard to keep still," said fifth-grader Mason
Campbell.

Maria said she enjoyed Indian dancing and was taking lessons
from Patel because, "I wanted to do something that represents
me."